University of Southampton School of Medicine, Southampton, UK.
Clin Exp Allergy. 2010 Oct;40(10):1533-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2010.03586.x. Epub 2010 Aug 2.
The peak incidence of deaths from anaphylaxis associated with nut allergy occurs in teenagers and young adults. During adolescence, the management of food allergy shifts from being the responsibility of parents to that of the young person. This is a group who therefore need special attention in the clinic.
This study aimed to understand the practical challenges that teenagers with food allergy experience using a qualitative approach and generate potential interventions for tackling these.
Teenagers aged 1118 years with food allergy completed a questionnaire about their food allergy and underwent a focused, semi-structured interview with open questions guided by a priori topic areas. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using a thematic approach.
The study enrolled 18 teenagers with a median age of 15 years (10 females); the most common food allergens were peanuts and tree nuts. Three key themes emerged: avoidance of allergens, preparation for reactions and the treatment of reactions. The majority of teenagers reported eating foods labelled as 'may contain' an allergen as they perceive that they are actually very unlikely to contain an allergen. Many of the teenagers only carried their self-injectable adrenaline when they thought they are particularly at risk of a reaction. Some do not know how to appropriately treat an allergic reaction. More than half believed that educating other students at school about the seriousness of food allergies would make it easier to live with their food allergy.
A significant number of teenagers demonstrate risk-taking behaviour in the management of their food allergies. Teenagers also felt it would be helpful for their peers to be educated about food allergy. This novel strategy might help them to avoid trigger foods and enable teenagers to access help more readily if they suffer a reaction.
与坚果过敏相关的过敏反应死亡的高发期出现在青少年和青年群体中。在青春期，食物过敏的管理责任从父母转移到年轻人身上。因此，这一群体在临床中需要特别关注。
本研究旨在通过定性方法了解青少年食物过敏患者所面临的实际挑战，并提出潜在的干预措施。
11-18 岁的食物过敏青少年完成了一份关于他们食物过敏的问卷，并接受了重点、半结构化的访谈，访谈采用了预先设定的主题领域的开放性问题。访谈以录音、转录和主题分析的方式进行。
该研究纳入了 18 名青少年，平均年龄为 15 岁（10 名女性）；最常见的食物过敏原是花生和坚果。出现了三个关键主题：避免过敏原、准备应对反应和治疗反应。大多数青少年报告食用标签为“可能含有”过敏原的食物，因为他们认为这些食物实际上不太可能含有过敏原。许多青少年只有在他们认为自己特别容易发生过敏反应时才携带自己的肾上腺素注射剂。有些人不知道如何正确治疗过敏反应。超过一半的人认为，在学校向其他学生教育食物过敏的严重性，将使他们更容易接受自己的食物过敏。
相当数量的青少年在管理食物过敏时表现出冒险行为。青少年也认为，让他们的同龄人了解食物过敏会有所帮助。这种新策略可能有助于他们避免触发食物，并使青少年在发生反应时更容易获得帮助。
